


Something New

by Foophile



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Friendship/Love, Gen, Starfleet Academy, beloved enemies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-10
Updated: 2016-02-10
Packaged: 2018-05-19 12:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5966917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foophile/pseuds/Foophile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spock gives her one of those slightly bemused expressions that she’s seen aimed most often at clueless first years. She can fully appreciate the beholder's contempt after this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something New

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 2011 for Rounds of Kink with the prompt, "Pre-series, she hated him from the start and thought that he didn’t care for her either. That is, if the Vulcan felt anything at all"; Beloved enemies, accidental exposure.

Nyota was used to being the loner in any room of the Academy.

It’s not that she drives people out. It’s the opposite really; she’s very popular and never shuts anyone out. But she’s well known as one of the most, if not the most successful and dedicated students of her year and the Academy’s most recent years. She shuts down any lab or library she enters.

And she has “arrangements” with the night crews of each place to let her stay a little longer, if needed.

So it’s a bit of a surprise when, after an hour of sitting alone in the xenolinguistics lab, she hears footsteps.

She turns to greet the person and her heart drops.

“Commander Spock.” Nyota tries to sound upbeat but she just can’t bring herself to pretend at this late hour.

“Cadet Uhura,” Spock greets atonally. He’s blank faced as usual and still in his uniform. Nyota’s wondered if he sleeps in it.

“The lab hours are clearly posted are they not?”

Nyota licks her lips in derision. She’s not going to say anything that might endanger the job of one of the Academy’s building managers.

“Why yes, I do believe that they are, Sir. I must have lost track of time.”

Spock gives her one of those slightly bemused expressions that she’s seen aimed most often at clueless first years. She can fully appreciate the beholder's contempt after this.

“It is not customary of you to ‘lose track of time.’ Are you well?”

It’s all Nyota can do not to snap at the man. 

He doesn’t know her at all and outside of the classroom they’ve never spoken a word other than respectful greetings. There’s another few hours worth of work she wanted to get done tonight so that she could have her weekend free to go out with Galia, but when it comes to Commander Spock she’s learned to live with disappointment.

She pastes on a bright smile, doubting that he would really appreciate her efforts to stem her tongue. “Everything is fine, Commander. Have a good night.”

Her padds stacked neatly, Nyota closes out her session on her workstation and stands to leave. Spock on the other hand doesn’t move to see her out.

“I detect some stress in your inflection Cadet. As your professor I am obligated to assist you in any way-,”

“Commander,” Nyota interjects, wanting to laugh at how uninterested he sounds. “I assure you that I’m fine and my coursework will not be affected.”

She nods to him and walks out quickly, the doors whizzing shut on Spock’s still form behind her.  
_

Nyota hadn't disliked Commander Spock when she signed up for his classes. In actuality, she'd been eager to join his classes and thought the past two years in other professors’ classes had been a monumental waste of time.

Her friends thought that she was insane to take so many of his advanced courses at once. And she’d heard the horror stories about the course loads that drove students to the brink of desertion. She saw it all as the best challenge she’d face since enrolling.

But then, the first day, he called her into his office after a grueling test of linguistic aptitude and said:

“The standard passing average of the test you just completed is 34 percent. I find that average has been consistent over the three cycles I’ve given it. I have yet to figure out how you cheated but this is your only opportunity to confess before I report you.”

It took Nyota a long minute to process what Spock was saying but once she did she was horrified. And livid.

“Sir! I assure you-,”

Spock held up a hand. “There is no way to achieve an 82 percent pass on this test.”

“Unless,” Nyota spoke up indignantly. “The cadet taking the test has entrance scores well above the average, almost as good as your own Commander, and has been studying the forms of nine different Federation languages. Lately I’ve been studying formal Andorian.”

Spock was visibly torn, his prominent brow the slightest bit furrowed, and Nyota sat back in her seat triumphant for the moment. Her pride, what her mother always called her downfall, was severely injured and she was still terrified that it may come down to her word against Spock’s if he took this to the Admiral.

“You may be right. I will review your records. If they are statistically sound, there will be no need for disciplinary actions.”

Nyota noticed that he said everything but that he’d apologize but as her anger was already at its boiling point; she figured it might be too much for a Vulcan to admit he was wrong.

“I am and I’ll prove it to you right now. I’ll take it again right here in front of you.” Her voice dripped with contempt. She’d accuse him of being discriminatory but somehow she knew it wasn’t quite that simple. Commander Spock simply couldn’t believe that any human could perform as successfully as he could.

And until Nyota, they hadn’t.

To Spock it wasn’t discriminatory, it was statistical.

The Commander took one of the data pads from a stack on his desk. He fiddled with it for a few seconds and then handed it to her. “This is highly unorthodox, Cadet Uhura, but you shouldn’t have any problem finishing this exam with the same success rate in thirty minutes.”

Nyota looked up sharply from the pad, the questions were no longer multiple choice nor did they resemble any of the ones she’d answered before. “This isn’t the same test and you’ve given me half the time to complete it. That’s not fair.”

“Cheating is not “fair” to your fellow cadets.” Spock stood. “If you wish to confess, I’ll be outside. There’s a monitoring system in this office so that I can observe you.”

Nyota trembled with frustration, on the verge of tears, but she refused to let them fall until she’d proven herself. She barely kept her voice steady. “Then why not stay?”

“I have other duties to attend to.”

He left without another word and Nyota took a second to focus. She’d never felt so threatened but she had a job to do if she wanted to prove him wrong.

She’d completed the test with only a minute to spare and walked it out to the Commander who was sitting at his desk in the lecture hall going over padds. Nyota placed it next to him.

“It is completed?” Spock asked.

“Of course.” Nyota’s hands were numb. She had a pounding headache from the stress.

“Then you are dismissed.” 

Spock hadn’t even turned to look at her padd and Nyota had no choice but to leave. But she stopped herself before she left the lecture hall and gathered the last of her strength to get his attention.

Spock looked up and she made sure to straighten her shoulders and flip her ponytail. She wouldn’t show how much he’d affected her. Her test would prove the truth but she still had to face him in classes every other day.

Nyota seriously regretted her overzealous nature sometimes. Because that nature certainly wouldn’t quell her mouth.

“Commander, I would appreciate the presence of the Admiral the next time you accuse me of cheating. It’s protocol is it not?”

Spock tipped his head to the side. “You are correct. I will endeavor to be less lenient on cheaters in the future.”

Nyota opened her mouth to contend, once again, that she hadn’t cheated but shook off the building rage. It’s what he wants you to do, she said to herself. Lose control and somehow incriminate yourself even if there’s nothing wrong. Cursing at a superior officer was almost as bad as cheating.

So she turned on her heel and stomped out. She didn’t even allow herself to mutter the slew of words she wanted to because she knew that he would be able to hear and hold it against her.

She’d never cursed a race in her life until then. Damn Vulcans.  
_

After that, there is a stalemate. Nyota continues to do what she does best. She excelled in that first class and all of the others she has to take with Commander Spock.

He becomes her greatest challenge and enemy. She sits in his class, heart beating out of her chest, remembering his words, and as silent as a mouse. And Nyota grows accustomed to the adrenaline rush of entering the lecture hall, expecting a confrontation that never comes.

She doesn’t have to worry about speaking with him. Spock doesn’t speak with students unless they were in trouble. Calling them out in class for answers when they wouldn’t meet his eye and, on one memorable occasion, asking why a student was even there if they refused to read the curriculum. That student had dropped the class the next day.

Commander Spock is notorious for ignoring his successful students and those students come to rely on each other – which may have been Spock’s intention all along.

And Spock has become more stringent, more public, about the rare cadet that dared to cheat in his class. It only happened about once a year but there were no indulgences from Commander Spock. That cadet’s life in the Academy was over.

The students who don’t have him call themselves lucky and Spock a tyrant. Nyota’s parents sided more with Spock but they are educators and scholars themselves. Nyota's used to their academic apathy, especially as they hadn’t wanted her to join Starfleet in the first place.

But her role as silent bystander only lasts for a year. By the time she and Galia are roommates, she’s also an aide for Commander Spock’s immediate superior in the Advanced Phonology department, Rear Admiral Dolinara. Within the first week she is not only inundated with Dolinara’s coursework but forced to confront Spock when Galia comes to her weeping.

Galia, of course, enrolled in one of Spock’s classes.

As Galia refuses to show her face in any of her classes until the matter’s been settled. (“Professors talk Ny! They’ll all know by tomorrow.” But Nyota personally can’t see Spock chatting it up at the watercooler.) So, Nyota gathers herself and uses a pile of work the Admiral wants delivered to gain access to Spock’s office.

She’s angered by what Galia told her but fearful as well. Spock is the only person who’s been able to upset her so badly.

Sitting behind his desk, he seems surprised to see her, which she guesses gives her some leverage. Having his attention focused on her is unnerving though. Being back in his office reminds her of the regard she used to hold for him and the swift comeuppance she’d experienced.

Galia owes her big time.

Commander Spock breaks the silence. “Is there something you want, Cadet Uhura?” His dark gaze is hollow, completely devoid of anything but innocent inquiry.

“I’m not aware if you know, but I am Cadet Galia’s roommate,” Nyota begins. “I’m here on her behalf.”

Spock lifts an eyebrow. “As Cadet Galia is no longer my student, I am intrigued by what you could be here to do.”

Nyota falters slightly. Galia had made it sound so simple before. Plead her case and get her back in the only linguistics class she needs to complete her yearly coursework.

She begins again, her voice stronger than before. “Galia’s work in other departments has been exemplar. She didn’t deserve to be kicked out of your class.”

“I simply told her that her intellect was substandard for the course and that she would ultimately continue to fail. I suggested that she transfer to a remedial course.” Spock says it all as if he’s reciting a recipe. Nyota blinks. He certainly hasn’t changed.

“‘Her intellect was substandard?’ Do you know how that sounds? Galia’s terrified to go back to any of her classes.” Nyota argues.

Spock finally stands and fully acknowledges her. “I have noticed that she is prone to over dramatics.”

Nyota chuckles in disbelief. “You were cruel.”

Spock replies immediately. “I am her professor. It was logical that I tell her the truth. If she ever makes it on board a starship she will find that none of her superiors will coddle her.”

“How will she ever make it on a starship if you bar her from taking your advanced courses?” Nyota knows that she has a point and the fact that he won’t acknowledge it is aggravating.

“That is no longer my concern.” Spock says.

Nyota deposits the work she was supposed to deliver on his desk. If it thumps a little loudly, Spock says nothing about it. She retreats as far away from him as possible, muttering, “Unbelievable” and wondering if she really expected to get anywhere with him.

The man is infuriating. She should have made Galia do this herself. Nyota’s amazed that after only a few minutes in his presence, her hands tremor with emotion.

“Cadet Uhura-,”

“Nyota.” She corrects and he ignores her.

“Cadet Uhura. What I fail to understand is your concern for Cadet Galia’s success in my course.” He sits back at his desk like a prim king on his throne. “Her failure is not indicative of your own. It is the opposite. You are brilliant, she is not. There may be some sentimental reason for this visit but I assure you it is unneeded and bordering on unwise.”

Nyota doesn’t know what to address first. The narcissist in her caught onto the fact that he called her brilliant – she’s never heard of the man giving a compliment. Yet in the next sentence he practically calls her dumb for sticking up for her friend.

She sighs, giving up. There’s no seeing eye to eye with him. “Then at least apologize.”

Spock stares. “There are many of courses available for inferior cadets at the Academy. She has the opportunity to succeed there.”

“Will you stop calling her stupid? She isn’t dumb!” Nyota snaps, discipline be damned. “Your coursework is almost overwhelming for me as it is and I’m sure you pride yourself on tearing down the hopes of cadets but certainly there was some other more ‘inferior’ cannon fodder. You were crass and rude, and she’s thinking about leaving the Academy because of you!”

Her voice rings throughout his quiet office and Nyota’s ready to turn on her heel and run when Spock finally speaks.

“I was simply stating the statistical facts to the cadet.” He pauses uncharacteristically. “Would you rather she continues to struggle in my class and fail the course, subsequently hurting her overall average and putting her graduation at risk, or that I tell her the truth?”

“No, sir. It’s just that you could have told her in a better manner.”

Spock shakes his head. “That was not logical. She needed to comprehend the gravity of the situation.”

Nyota’s done. She feels like she’s on a rollercoaster and is more than ready to get off. But she won’t have her final words be meaningless.

“I’d ask how you could be so heartless but that would imply that you have one.”

That out of everything seems to get a rise out of him. His dark eyes flash, narrow dangerously, and Nyota’s stomach jumps. “You are out of line, Cadet.”

Nyota nods, saying, “Yeah, I know. I apologize, sir.” Even though she doesn’t really mean it. But she is intrigued. He never seemed to care about caring before, what was it in what she just said that made the impact. And, more importantly, how can she say it again?

She doesn’t want to hurt him intentionally. Nyota isn’t a cruel person, but she’s felt that Spock isn’t getting it and he’s hurting others.

However silence reigns in the office and Nyota’s backing out of the office, ready to go back to work and give Galia the bad news when Spock calls to her.

“Cadet Uhura, I will personally contact Commander Wilkes and have Galia transferred to her class. She should report there in the morning. Tell her to expect a challenging course load as she will have to make up the weeks she’s missed.” He looks at her, his face contemplative and something in his eyes catching Nyota for a second. He almost looks remorseful.

She leaves slightly stunned, wondering if that’s a Vulcan’s way of apologizing.

Nyota will take it either way.

_

The next day, Spock calls on her in class and when she knows the answer, he gives her yet another compliment and moves on. Nyota’s floored, as is the rest of the class, but they only have a second to process before the Commander’s asking another student and then another. They almost have a group discussion, Spock leaving it up the cadets to initiate the topics, and it’s the best class Nyota’s ever had.

Right then, Nyota knows there’s something wrong.

“You hurt his feelings,” Galia says that night.

“I highly doubt that,” Nyota counters. “But lets not forget that I was there because you were too busy trying to cut your wrists.”

Galia rolls her eyes. “Ha, ha. You’ve never almost failed a class. But really, maybe you hurt him.”

Nyota looks out her dorm window onto the courtyard below. Just miles away are the Faculty dorms. She wonders not for the first time what Spock does when he isn’t teaching.

“He got to you too didn’t he?” Galia asks behind her. She’s getting ready to go out, as usual.

Nyota smirks. “He did that a long time ago.”

Galia hums, “Interesting.”

_

Weeks go by before she has to speak to Spock again outside of class. This time she’s no ones advocate, simply the Admiral’s aide, but she can actually see the Commander brace himself when she enters his office.

Apparently she’s not the only one feeling challenged.

“The Admiral wanted you to look over the latest senior theses. They’re fascinating.”

“You have read them?” Spock says as he accepts the work.

Nyota nods. “Always. I’ll be doing my own soon.”

Spock seems interested. “Have you picked a topic?”

“Not exactly. I want to do so many things that it’s hard to pin down a simple Communications thesis.”

“Maybe there is some point of continuity between them? What ‘things’ are intriguing?”

Nyota tells him easily, as she would any other professor who would ask, and before she knows it, long minutes have gone by with Spock sitting stock still and listening. A familiar rush of adrenaline floods her when she notices that she’s been gushing to him. He probably only cares on the most artificial level.

Yet Spock eliminates her worry.

“If you would not mind, Cadet Uhura, I think I could give you some insight when you are ready to begin your research. Although, there has been some tension between us, I do hope that you will accept my mentorship if you are ever in need.”

Nyota nods, speechless but grateful. Commander Spock is arguably the smartest being in Starfleet, bad blood or not. And, she adds internally, they’ve just had a very good, if one sided, conversation without tearing each other apart. Maybe they can stand to have another.

“Galia’s very happy in Commander Houston’s class, by the way.” Nyota informs him. “She wanted to let you know that she appreciates your making a place for her. She says it shows heart.”

Galia had emphasized that Nyota needed to say that and from the way Spock sits up in his seat, she figures her roommate was right. She did land a blow with those thoughtless words.

Spock webs his hands together on his desk. “I though I was heartless, Cadet Uhura?”

Nyota takes a seat in the chair she always ignores, opposite him. “Please call me Nyota if you’re going to be my mentor, Commander, and,” she pauses, giving him a smirk he blinks at. “It seems I was wrong.”

“So it is possible.” Spock says.

“So it seems.” Nyota laughs.

She leaves his office almost an hour later with a smile on her face. It’s the first time that’s happened and she hopes the beginning of something else. Something new.

END


End file.
